It was an exciting day when our new Giesen W15 Roaster arrived! Randy has been privileged to roast on top quality machines by Diedrich and Probat, but this particular roaster is the perfect fit for our needs as we grow and evolve. We are so excited for the potential to further improve upon the nuances and sweetness of our best coffees, which we so carefully source.

Finally, after a brand redesign and a year after embarking on the bag redesign with Factory North of Portland, our new bags and labels are here! Seeing them all lined up on shelves together makes quite an impact, and we couldn't be happier with the end result.

Here is a recent correspondence we received from a customer that is doing amazing work in Sudan, Africa as part of Doctors Without Borders. It sure feels good to know how our coffee can be something that lightens someone's day! Needless to say we'll be sending him a complimentary shipment of coffee and more apparel.

"Hello from South Sudan!

>>> I am writing because, for the past 6 months, I have been working in South Sudan for Doctors Without Borders, sporting my Evans Brothers: Artisan Coffee Roasters hat.

>>> It has been with me through all kinds of crazy situations here, and one night as I was lying in my mud hut, staring at the hat for the hundredth time, I started to wonder if your company were still around. Looks like it is! A few years ago, when my brother and sister in law were in Idaho on a cross-country bicycle trip, my brother was given the hat as a gift by a Sandpoint resident.

>>> My brother gave me the hat to take along to Africa, and I use it constantly. However, it frequently reminds me of one of the many things not available in conflict affected South Sudan: GOOD coffee.

>>> I'm returning for several weeks around thanksgiving, and although we have many, many coffee roasters in Washington state, I would most love to celebrate my time at home with my own brother, and a fat bag of Evans Bros coffee. Can you please recommend the quintessential Evans Bros roast? I'll put an order in and have it shipped to my home town of Bellingham, WA in time for my homecoming. Hope to hear from you soon!

Randy and I are thrilled to be opening the 2013/14 ski season as the exclusive coffee roasters for Schweitzer Mountain Resort. We won the contract over the off season, as Schweitzer was able to open up the bidding process to regional roasters. We have been busy developing new signage for a cool, vintage look that fits well given the 50th Anniversary of Schweitzer this year.

This contract is especially rewarding for us because Schweitzer and skiing have been such a huge part of our lives. This mountain was a key reason in both my brother and I relocating our families to Sandpoint. Skiing is a huge passion for both of us, and something that has always bound us closer as brothers. Our business was literally created in 2008/09 over repeated rides on Chair 6, and we dedicated all our original blend names to Schweitzer runs. What's more, our families are connected to this resort. Randy's daughter Lillie took her first steps in Schweitzer Village, and our kids have been on skis since they could walk!

We have also installed brand new, top of the line, brewers and grinders throughout the resort, dialing in the machines for the perfect brew. We'll feature our Organic Siberia Dark Blend, Organic Big Timber Blend, Organic Chair 6 Breakfast Blend, and Headwall Espresso - our existing blends that have always been named in honor of Schweitzer ski runs and our favorite chairlift. We'll also mix in our favorite Single Origin coffees in Mojo Coyote Cafe and Chimney Rock Grill. At Gourmandie Wine Bar, a handcrafted 'pourover' coffee will be offered, which is a superior brew method that we offer at our own cafe. They will feature exceptional single origin coffees, including our limited line of Roaster Reserve offerings. Our packaged coffee and other merchandise will be available at Gourmandie and Mojo Coyote Cafe.

It's been an absolute pleasure partnering with the team at Schweitzer, and we look forward to working together on numerous initiatives. One thing we've done is purchase a co-branded travel mug for all 500+ employees, who can re-fill their mugs anytime at Evans Brothers or Schweitzer for just $1. We'll be doing numerous tastings throughout the season. Look for us also to be heavily involved in many of the fundraising and other events that Schweitzer a

We were excited to receive a 93 score from Coffee Review this past month for our Organic Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Aylele. Coffee Review is a coffee buying guide run by the esteemed Kenneth Davids, and is used by many coffee aficionados to find the best coffees available, from the universe of available roasters. Each month there is a specific theme, and roasters around the country submit their best coffees in hopes of receiving one of the top ratings and being published.
This was the first time we had submitted anything to Coffee Review, and the theme was 'Coffees from a Single Variety, Single Lot'. Only 13 of the highest rated coffees are published in the monthly article, and our Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Aylele made the cut with an outstanding 93 score! Click here to read the review.

Our focus at Evans Brothers is finding these 'microlot' coffees that can be traced directly to the farm and lot level. This differs from a coffee that is simply listed with the region it comes from, as is most often the case in Africa. You'll ususally just see a coffee as Ethiopia Yirgacheffe. This is because most of the farmers are very small scale and all send to the same regional location for processing. There is often no incentive to be better than your neighbor. This is beginning to change with the work of good importers such as Cafe Imports, who located this coffee for us. They have provided financial incentive to individual farmers and isolated each individual farm. Mr. Aylele and his family rose to the top this year. Last year we selected coffee from a nearby farm owned by the Birhanu family, a coffee that ended up winning a Good Food Award.

This is one reason why our coffee offerings rotate seasonally. We are always searching for the best of the best. For anyone wanting to get the best coffees we have available, I recommend our Roaster's Reserve Coffee Subscription. We select our best coffees every month and send these to you automatically, assuring that you'll always drink our most exciting Kenya's or Ethiopian's or other limited release, special coffees.